makes 6-8 pancakes
Nuoc Cham
¼ cup fish sauce, I like Three Crabs Brand
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon Vietnamese chili paste with garlic (Huy Fong brand) or sambal oelek (Indonesian fresh ground chili sauce
1 clove garlic, minced and mashed to a paste
For the crepes
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk, stirred before using
1 cup rice flour
½ cup cornstarch
2 cups water
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (white and light-green parts)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Kosher salt
Canola oil or vegetable oil
6 ounces boneless pork tenderloin or pork loin, cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
6 ounces shrimp 31-40 ct, peeled, deveined and cut lengthwise in half
2 shallots, cut from top to bottom, peeled, and then into thin half-moon slices
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
Red leaf lettuce and mint leaves, for serving
For nuoc cham: Combine fish sauce, sugar, vinegar and water in a medium bowl, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Stir in the garlic. (Do Ahead: The sauce can be made, and refrigerated in a container for up to 1 week.)
For the crepes: In a large bowl, coconut milk, rice flour, cornstarch, water, turmeric, and a pinch of salt. Stir in the
scallions. The batter will be thin; let it rest for at least 20 minutes, or preferably refrigerate overnight; let batter return
to room temperature and stir well before cooking crepes. Make Crepes: Pour about ½ cup of oil into a small dish. Dip a
silicone brush in it and grease a 10-12 inch nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add a couple slices
of the pork, a couple of shrimp and a few slices of shallot all on one side of the skillet. Cook for 30 seconds, then turn
them over and cook for 15 seconds on the second side. Stir the crepe batter, then pour about 2/3 cup of it into the pan,
tilting it off heat so the batter coats the bottom of the pan, but pork, shrimp and onion stay in place. Scatter 1/4 cup of
the bean sprouts on the side with the pork, shrimp and shallot. Increase the heat to medium-high; cover the skillet and
cook for about 1 minute, until set. Uncover and brush some oil around the sides of the crepe (to help crisp the edges).
Cook for 1 more minute or so, until the bottom of the crepe is golden and crisp. Use a large rubber or plastic spatula to
gently fold the empty side of the crepe over the filling, then slide the crepe onto a plate. Repeat the process. Serve the
crepes as soon as they are cooked so they retain their crispness. Tear off a piece of crepe, wrap in a lettuce leaf with,
mint and dip into nuoc cham.